Friday, October 24, 2014

Following Kentucky’s across-the-board
embrace of Common Core in 2010, eight regional leadership networks were
developed to scale up the work of teacher training - thanks to a KDE grant from
the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The leadership networks were
multi-agency teams of K-12 and higher education professionals whose purpose was
to provide the necessary teacher training for successful implementation of
Common Core. Everybody cooperated. Faculty members from UK, U of L, Eastern,
Northern, Western, Morehead, and Murray attended the state-designed trainings,
and returned home to train the teachers in their regions along with the teacher
education candidates in their universities. This also caused universities to
realign the curriculum within their teacher education courses to assure proper
instruction of future teachers. The effort was meant to build the capacity in
every Kentucky teacher to refine new learning into more powerful lessons and
assessments.

So it was a bit shocking to those
stalwart soldiers at the local level to hear that Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry
Holliday’s told WFPL radio, this week, that middle and elementary school
teachers have not received adequate training in their university's preparation
programs. “This is something we’re finding pretty persistent across the
commonwealth,” he said.

“If a student does not do well in
Algebra 1 in high school, or does not pass eighth grade math, those students
will not be successful in reaching college and career ready status,” he said.

Education
Commissioner Terry Holliday

The No. 1 predictor of successfully
reaching college and career readiness—an element of state accountability—is
eighth grade math scores, Holliday said. Reading is important, but math is the
foundation.

Kentucky’s middle school math scores
have not been as high as the education department would like (45 percent of
eighth grade students are proficient or above according to the latest data),
and Holliday said that’s partly because middle school math teachers aren’t
receiving the training they need to teach Kentucky's new standards.

The state was the first to adopt the
Common Core Standards (now called the Kentucky Core Academic Standards), which
is supposed to improve how and what students learn in English language arts and
math. These new standards are more difficult and are meant to help states that
adopted them (which is most) compete with our international peers.

But it also means middle school math
teachers are now teaching some content, like in Algebra I, that was previously
taught in high school, Holliday said.

Teaching new standards affects all
grade levels. But middle and elementary school teachers have not received
adequate training in their college's or university's preparation programs,
which Holliday said needs to change.

“This is something we’re finding pretty
persistent across the commonwealth,” he said.

Middle and elementary school teachers
aren’t required to take math courses for their certificate according guidelines
by the Education Profession Standards Board, which determines what kind of
training teachers need to work in the state.

The change will need to come in part by
the EPSB and teacher prep programs at colleges and universities, said Holliday.
Among the ideas, he said, is to have elementary or middle school teachers with
a focus, like math, which is something high school teachers have.

“This is what Finland and other leading
countries do,” he said.

There are potential changes that may
come in the next few years, said Holliday. He added the state needs to look at
its licensure and program approval systems and determine what kind of
correlation exists between teacher certification requirements and how kids
perform in math at certain grade levels.

The Commissioner “failed to do his
homework,” one teacher educator told KSN&C. “Not only have I received
intensive training on the new common core standards, and returned to teach
methods students, and train teachers in the state on what they mean as far
as content and teaching practice, but our Math Department also received
training and served on many committees in the early stages of
development.”

Regarding the program requirements for
teacher education candidates, “All I can say is whoever shared this information
evidently does not know what they are talking about,” the professor said. “Our
middle school students take 24 to 27 hours of math and our elementary students
take 9 -12 hours. These hours do not include methods - which would add an
additional 3 hours.”

KSN&C wrote to KDE spokeswoman Nancy
Rodriguez to see if the Commissioner would consider clarifying his statements
for the record. And he did.

Rodriguez provided some context to the
Commissioner’s comments. The interview was a follow up to an Unbridled Learning
media webcast where Dr. Holliday was asked about middle school math scores. He
noted at that time that middle school mathematics teachers are being required
to teach concepts that once were the domain of high school teachers and not all
have the content knowledge to do that.

“While the networks were an excellent
collaboration of higher education and K-12, my remarks are based on hundreds of
one-on-one discussions with classroom teachers who were certainly aware of the
standards, however, expressed a need for additional content knowledge and
support,” Education Commissioner Terry Holliday said.

Rodriguez said that Holliday has been
working closely with EPSB and CPE leaders for several years to enhance teacher
preparation programs. She described it as “a very cooperative and collaborative
partnership” that includes examining teacher preparation programs, trainings
and professional learning. Eastern Kentucky University, along with other
Kentucky public and private higher education institutions, has been involved in
this work, including participating in development of a proposal for the
Vanguard Project which addresses reform in teacher preparation.

As the story noted, Dr. Holliday
suggested that schools have some teachers with a mathematics content focus. It
is common for elementary and middle schools to have teachers who have a
literacy focus now. He was suggesting that it would be valuable for them to
also have teachers with a mathematics content focus.

“As a chief, I support looking at our
international competitors. Many of which require math specialization at the
upper elementary and middle school levels. Marc Tucker and many other education
writers support this change in certification requirements,” Holliday said.

KSN&C

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Why This Blog?

So far as we know, we only get one lifetime. So, when I "retired" in 2004, after 31-years in public education I wanted to do something different. I wanted to teach, write and become a student again. I have since spent a decade in higher ed.

I have listened to so many commentaries over the years about what should be done to improve Kentucky's schools - written largely by folks who have never tried to manage a classroom, run a school, or close an achievement gap. I came to believe that I might have something to offer.

I moved, in 1985, from suburban northern Kentucky to what was then the state’s flagship district - Fayette County. I have had a unique set of experiences to accompany my journey through KERA’s implementation. I have seen children grow to graduate and lead successful lives. I have seen them go to jail and I have seen them die. I have been amazed by brilliant teachers, dismayed by impassive bureaucrats, disappointed by politicians and uplifted by some of Kentucky’s finest school children. When I am not complaining about it, I will attest that public school administration is critically important work.

Democracy is run by those who show up. In our system of government every citizen has a voice, but only if they choose to use it.

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On the campaign trail...with my wife Rita

An action shot: The Principal...as a much younger man.

Faculty Senate Chair

Serving as Mace Bearer during the Inauguration of Michael T. Benson as EKU's 12th president.

Teaching

EDF 203 in EKU's one-room schoolhouse.

Professin'

Lecturing on the history of Berea College to Berea faculty and staff, 2014.

Faculty Regent

One in a long series of meetings. 2016

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